Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.50.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Aura Biosciences from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Aura Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research note on Monday.

Aura Biosciences Price Performance

Aura Biosciences stock opened at $5.44 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $345.44 million, a P/E ratio of -2.80 and a beta of 0.45. Aura Biosciences has a 1-year low of $4.34 and a 1-year high of $9.53. The company’s 50-day moving average is $5.90 and its 200 day moving average is $6.21.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported ($0.40) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.46) by $0.06. Research analysts anticipate that Aura Biosciences will post -1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Aura Biosciences

In other news, insider Los Pinos Elisabet De sold 9,049 shares of Aura Biosciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.35, for a total transaction of $57,461.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 474,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,012,382.85. The trade was a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Janet Jill Hopkins sold 17,109 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.42, for a total value of $92,730.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 252,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,369,552.70. This trade represents a 6.34% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 39,223 shares of company stock valued at $233,155. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aura Biosciences

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AURA. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Aura Biosciences by 49.3% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Aura Biosciences by 24.3% in the 2nd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 2,434 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Aura Biosciences by 12.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 24,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 2,693 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Aura Biosciences by 5.5% during the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 69,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 3,630 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Aura Biosciences by 8.3% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 51,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 3,956 shares during the period. 96.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Aura Biosciences

Aura Biosciences, Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, develops precision immunotherapies to treat a range of solid tumors. The company's proprietary platform enables the targeting of a range of solid tumors using virus-like particles conjugated with drugs or loaded with nucleic acids to create virus-like drug conjugates.